WASHINGTON – A seething Rep. Peter King [pictured] lambasted Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday and accused him of “gross dereliction of duty” for contracting with a prostitute-toting limo company pushed by disgraced former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunning ham.

King (R-L.I.), chairman of the House Homeland Secu rity Committee, went ballistic during a probe into the contract yesterday, when a Homeland Security bureaucrat testified that Chertoff was told about Cunningham’s role two weeks ago – but never told Congress.

“I find it disgraceful that Secretary Chertoff, who knew that a convicted felon [was] at the center of one of the worst scandals ever, which has had ramifications all over this city, has not said a word to us,” King barked.

“That to me is a gross dereliction of duty by Secretary Chertoff.”

Chertoff’s high-profile spanking was King’s political payback for giving New York the shaft with a massive cut of anti-terror funds.

“To me, it’s the same failure of judgment – and arrogance,” King told The Post after the hearing.

A Chertoff spokesman told The Post that King’s comments amounted to grandstanding.